The Embassy of Italy in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

is the

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, located at 4 Grosvenor Square,

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

. The

Chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873 ** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery ** Courts of e ...

office entrance is located to the rear, at 14 Three Kings Yard, a private cul-de-sac off Davies Street.

History

The house was built about 1728 as part of the development of Grosvenor Square by the Grosvenor family. However, it was not until 10 years later that the lease, the most expensive in the Square, was purchased. The first leaseholder was

Francis Howard, 1st Earl of Effingham Brigadier-General Francis Howard, 1st Earl of Effingham ( bapt. 20 October 1683 – 12 February 1743) was an English peer and army officer. Francis was the second son of Francis Howard, 5th Baron Howard of Effingham. On 26 July 1722, he was ...

: he rented the house to

Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk (5 June 1686 – 20 September 1777) was an English peer and politician who was Earl Marshal from 1732 to 1777. Origins He was the third of the five sons of Lord Thomas Howard (d.1689), of Worksop (younger br ...

, who lived in it until 1741. In February 1742 Lord Effingham sold the lease for £5,500 to

Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham, KB, PC (I) (13 November 1693 – 14 December 1750) of Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire was a British Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1715 until 1728 when he was raised t ...

. Learning in 1865 that the Grosvenor estate required the house to be rebuilt, the tenant Earl Fitzwilliam vacated the property, which was taken over by the architect, Sir

Charles James Freake Sir Charles James Freake, 1st Baronet (7 April 1814 – 6 October 1884) was an untrained English architect and builder, responsible for many famous 19th-century façades in London, including Eaton Square, Exhibition Road and Onslow Square ...

. Unable to find a new occupant for the renovated house, Freake passed the lease back to the Fitzwilliam family in 1872. They remained in occupation until the seventh Earl surrendered his lease in 1931. In 1931, Italy was granted a lease for 200 years by

Hugh Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster Hugh Richard Arthur Grosvenor, 2nd Duke of Westminster, (19 March 1879 – 19 July 1953), was a British landowner. He was also noted for his support of the Nazi ideology and his affair with French designer Coco Chanel. Early life Hugh was t ...

, for £35,000 and £350 per annum. Lord Gerald Wellesley was commissioned to convert the interior into suitable accommodation for the embassy, with marble fittings to suit the Italian art and furnishings. The Embassy had previously occupied 19/20 Grosvenor Square since 1887: that building was demolished in 1933. Italy also maintains a number of other buildings in the capital: a Consular Section at 83-86

Farringdon Street Farringdon Road is a road in Clerkenwell, London. Route Farringdon Road is part of the A201 route connecting King's Cross to Elephant and Castle. It goes southeast from King's Cross, crossing Rosebery Avenue, then turns south, crossing C ...

, Farringdon, a Cultural Section at 39

Belgrave Square Belgrave Square is a large 19th-century garden square in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and its architecture resembles the original scheme of property contractor Thomas Cubitt who engaged George Basevi for all of the terraces for ...

Belgravia Belgravia () is a district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous pla ...

, a Defence Section at 7-10 Hobart Place,

, a Financial Section at 2 Royal Exchange,

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, and a Trade Commission at 14

Waterloo Place Waterloo Place is a short but broad street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster, London. It forms a plaza-like space and is a southern extension of Lower Regent Street. Towards the northern end it is crossed by Pall Mall and at th ...

. Former locations were 35 Queen's Gate, South Kensington, and 20 Grosvenor Square.''Cook's Continental Time Tables and Tourists' Hand Book'', Volume 20, Part 1 (Thos. Cook & Son, 1892), p. xxv.

Gallery

Embassy of Italy in London 2.jpg, The embassy entrance on Three Kings Yard Embassy of Italy in London 3.jpg, Plaque outside the embassy in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

Embassy of Italy in London 4.jpg, View of the embassy from Grosvenor Square Italian Cultural Section in London.jpg, The Cultural Section on Belgrave Square Italian Defence Section in London.jpg, The Defence Section on Hobart Place Italy, Farringdon Road.jpg, The Consular Section on Farringdon Road

References

Bibliography

* * As described in

External links

Embassy of Italy in London Official website
{{Diplomatic missions in the United Kingdom

Diplomatic missions of Italy Italy–United Kingdom relations

History

Gallery

See also

References

Bibliography

External links